Lee Sa-rang's Crisis! (3) Kim Gil-gang and Kang Min-hyuk... Maybe My "Dick" Guy Is Even Busier Than Me.
In the office of Kim Gil-gang's house, the high-end audio equipment gleamed as if soaked in money. Premium speakers lined the shelves, alongside rare vinyl records I had never seen even in my previous life. Antique vacuum-tube speakers added an elegant, almost vintage touch to the room.
*'Gangster scum, yet such an aristocratic hobby...'*
When I stepped into Kim Gil-gang's office, that was my exact impression.
In my past life, I had never entered this place because the bastard had come to find me. If I hadn't known his true identity, I would have gawked like Kim Min-gu beside me.
"I heard from Secretary Kim, but... it looks more difficult than I expected?"
Kim Gil-gang lounged on the sofa, the highest seat, his eyes sweeping over my face with clear dissatisfaction.
I didn't know exactly what he meant, but the way he lifted his chin made me think he was at least showing some respect.
In my previous life, he had immediately switched to rough speech and started threatening the moment we met.
*What... back then I didn't have the rock-solid backup of Lee Ji-yeon either.*
To him, I must have just been some young punk who looked useful.
"From what I heard, it's about Kim Si-a's works, right?"
"'Kim Si-a,' not 'Miss Kim Si-a.'"
"..What?"
"You should say 'Miss Kim Si-a,' Mr. Kim Gil-gang."
*Gangster scum, calling our actresses 'us' like that...*
Since I had no reason to bend to him and didn't feel like it anyway, I took the initiative to provoke him lightly.
Of course, from Kim Gil-gang's perspective, that light provocation could never be overlooked.
His face flushed red, veins bulging in his neck as he spat out, "Tsk, shit... Is the whole lot of them broken? Even Lee Min-seok and these blood-sucking bastards..."
Even in my light provocation, Kim Gil-gang's true nature shone through instantly.
No matter how much money he had paid to decorate this place, the gangster at his core would never change.
*'Hah...* That’s exactly what I want to hear.'
When dealing with guys like him, I had to make sure they knew I was the one with the upper hand.
Otherwise, these scumbags would obviously try to manipulate me.
If they sensed even the slightest weakness, they would stop at nothing to devour me.
In other words, the moment they saw an opening, they would strike at JS Entertainment without hesitation.
So I had to show this bastard exactly what I was.
I was not a prey to be eaten by someone like him, but a predator who could eat him anytime.
"This blood-sucking bastard... has gone insane from wanting to die?"
Kim Gil-gang stood up, as if his blood was boiling, loosening his tie.
"Chief, please step aside..."
Even Kim Min-gu, who had been standing quietly, rose at that moment too.
But we weren't here to fight; we were here to do business.
I had provoked Kim Gil-gang only to seize the lead, not to start a war with him.
I stopped Kim Min-gu from rising and shot a cold glare at Gil-gang.
"Mr. Kim Gil-gang, sit down."
"This bastard... has been acting like that all along!"
"Club Med CEO murder case!"
The step Kim Gil-gang had been taking toward me stopped dead.
"International No.1 Mafia organization member disappearance case, Gyecheon Port drug smuggling case... even the Tube Entertainment fraud case... tell me everything!"
As his crimes poured out one after another from my mouth, Kim Gil-gang's face turned deathly pale, as if he had seen a ghost.
He had no choice—none of these events had ever appeared in Lee Min-seok's file.
Only someone who had lived through the regression, Kang Min-hyuk, could know them.
"T-That... how..."
"You don't need to know how I know..."
All of this information had come directly from the bastard's own mouth in my previous life.
People always gather with their own kind, after all.
We had drunk together many times, and every time I got drunk, I would tell him these stories, one by one.
The evil deeds I had committed, the weaknesses that could one day destroy me.
Of course, at the time we had been on good terms after ruining Ju Hye-ryeong together.
If I had told him about myself, I was sure he wouldn't have dared to blab elsewhere.
*'But I regressed...?'*
*What... I had no intention of suddenly becoming a righteous savior and punishing the bastard.*
I revealed this information simply as a warning: that I was this kind of person, so he should not act recklessly.
I was neither a clean nor a righteous man.
I was merely using these facts to obtain one useful hunting dog named Kim Gil-gang.
"Mr. Kim Gil-gang, how about tomorrow morning? I can cover your face all over the community with that photo."
Kim Gil-gang looked confused at the cold voice.
This man... who was he, anyway? How did he know every secret that even Lee Min-seok didn't?
And how should I treat a man who already knew all my secrets?
*'Just finish it off cleanly?'*
Right now, in this place, I could work without anyone knowing.
Even though the bulky guy beside him bothered me a little.
But if it came to his skills...
"Stop rolling your eyes and just sit down, Mr. Kim Gil-gang. Why? Want me to kill you quietly?"
The sly grin on the man's face seemed to read my thoughts perfectly.
At the quiet, piercing voice that sounded like a blade, Kim Gil-gang slumped back into the sofa as if he had given up.
*'Fuck... I'm completely caught...'*
Kim Gil-gang had awakened from his delusion and realized he was trapped in a trap from which there was no escape.
A man with this level of information power would never let me treat him casually.
And even if I somehow managed to kill the man in front of me, he himself would never be safe.
*'Anyway, the other side probably wants something too...'*
I had gotten excited from the provocation, but looking back, it wasn't that bad a situation.
If these were people coming to dispose of him, they wouldn't have bothered to approach so openly.
*'I need to calm down... calm down and accept the situation coldly.'*
I took a slow breath to steady myself.
The words of Kim Ban-seok, Lee Ji-hye's secretary, echoed in my mind.
*[Mr. Kim Gil-gang, I'm saying this out of kindness, but if you underestimate him just because he looks young, you'll regret it.]*
In the end, Kim Gil-gang ignored Kim Ban-seok's warning, looked down on me as a young punk, and suffered a great loss.
"This... I have committed a great rudeness."
Kim Gil-gang bowed at a ninety-degree angle, head lowered in a show of respect.
He had finally realized it.
The man sitting before him was not prey to be eaten, but the one holding the leash—the Grim Reaper.
***
"So... you're saying you'll make sure Ju Hye-ryeong can't even show her face in public?"
"Yes. Not only in the entertainment industry, but I will make sure she can't live in this country either."
I, who had already exposed her, and Kim Gil-gang, who had to watch Lee Min-seok's reaction, now both had motives.
What I proposed to Kim Gil-gang was to handle the uncomfortable matters ourselves instead of him.
"I will take care of everything so that you won't be entangled with it."
"Do you think that's possible?"
"Ju Hye-ryeong has done things that are definitely more than just one or two. The bullying victim is going to speak up—what can she do?"
"And Lee Min-seok will just let that happen?"
"Don't worry. Lee Min-seok won't be able to touch the person who triggered it easily..."
What he feared most was Lee Min-seok's retaliation.
But even Lee Min-seok had a blade I couldn't touch.
*'Reporter Lee Ji-yeon isn't weak against that family either...'*
Of course, Lee Min-seok had more capital, but when it came to power and connections, Lee Ji-yeon was no pushover.
Her grandfather was a shining five-term National Assembly member.
Her father was a high-ranking official in the prosecution.
No matter how great Lee Min-seok was, he could not touch her lightly.
*'What... Ju Hye-ryeong might spill my story too, but...'*
It wasn't impossible, but she wouldn't speak without going mad.
She wouldn't reveal her own weaknesses unless she did.
And even if my existence was discovered, she would probably assume it was just revenge because of my trouble with Kim Si-a.
*'And since Hyung Jong-seok is holding on in JS, Lee Min-seok can't openly reveal himself and attack us.'*
After all, Jong-seok held the stocks of YM Financial,
and Lee Min-seok was hiding his identity beneath the surface to steal them.
If I provoked Jong-seok and he transferred the stocks to Lee Ji-hye, it would be Lee Min-seok who suffered.
*'And besides... would Lee Min-seok even listen to what Ju Hye-ryeong had to say?'*
I roughly predicted what mischief he might pull using Daeyoung Planning.
Probably something like sexual blackmail on the higher-ups.
In short, Ju Hye-ryeong meant nothing more than a "whore" to Lee Min-seok.
But would that bastard even listen to the story of a mere "whore"?
I could guarantee that the moment the case broke, Ju Hye-ryeong would never see even a shadow of Lee Min-seok again.
*'Ju Hye-ryeong will fall into ruin, Lee Sa-rang's recruitment failed... and Choi Min-hyuk will be sent to prison because of the drug case?'*
That meant I could handle what Lee Min-seok wanted to do with Daeyoung Planning with zero success.
"Anyway, it will blow up in a place completely unrelated to Mr. Kim Gil-gang.
Just rest assured and handle the tasks I gave you well. Easy, right?"
".."
"What... there's no need to be difficult. I'm not asking you to kill anyone. Just a short kidnapping, isn't it?
You originally know how to do this, so why is it so hard?"
"I can't do it... but why are you helping me..."
The hesitation in his voice wasn't from fear.
It was because the proposal I had made seemed ridiculously insignificant to him.
From his perspective, it made no sense.
I was only a workplace superior who had just given him a light scolding.
*What... in his position, where the reward was Lee Sa-rang, it made sense he would think that.*
But even if he knew Lee Sa-rang was the prize, he still wouldn't understand me until the end.
He couldn't possibly imagine that Lee Sa-rang was just a piece of my "meat toilet."
" What will you do? Will you grab my hand?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Kim Gil-gang grabbed my outstretched hand.
"This... I thought it would take some time to get revenge... but I seem to have met a benefactor today."
"Haha, isn't a benefactor the one who helps each other? Then, if you're ready, contact me. I'll contact you when I'm ready."
"Me? I don't have any preparation to speak of... I can do it as early as tomorrow."
We shook hands and smiled brightly at each other.
If Ju Hye-ryeong and Jeong Man-sik had seen that smile, they would have felt a chill down their spines at the cruel curve on my lips.
*'Alright... let's begin the counterattack?'*
Of course, to start the counterattack, I would need to stir things up with Reporter Lee Ji-yeon.
No, wait... first, I should comfort Lee Sa-rang a little?
No. I should first settle Si-a unnie...
Then Lee Ji-hye...
*'Hah... looks like I was wrong.'*
It seemed that to carry out this plan, my "dick guy" would have to move a little more busily than me.